


I like like you

by Late_to_the_fandom



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek has emotions that he no longer keeps for himself, Derek no longer feels broken, Derek puts an end to his shit., Jackson is an ass, M/M, Stiles is hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:35:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Late_to_the_fandom/pseuds/Late_to_the_fandom
Summary: “You’re so pathetically inadequate. No wonder no one wants you.” The words, laced with venom, stung. The blood drained from his face and numbness crept slowly in the pit of his stomach. He stood tall even though he was deeply hurt.The one where Jackson is a giant Douche and Derek has had enough of it.





	I like like you

“You’re so pathetically inadequate. No wonder no one wants you.” The words, laced with venom, stung. The blood drained from his face and numbness crept slowly in the pit of his stomach. He stood tall even though he was deeply hurt.

 

“The truth finally comes out.” He spat.  Jackson opened his mouth, but he cut him off before he spewed more vileness. “Hell no! You don’t get to say it’s a joke when we both know it’s not!” His voice cracked, and his fists were balled up both in anger and pain, but he was not letting this one go. “News flash buddy! There is nothing you can say that I haven’t already thought about myself. I know I’m weird, ok? I’m weird and awkward and I just can’t shut up. I fucking _KNOW!_ I’m skinny and weak and not much to look at. I do see myself in the mirror _every fucking_ _day_.” He stood his ground, breath labored and cheeks burning. The trembling in his limbs a clear sign he was on the brink of losing his shit, but he wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing him cry. He swallowed the lump in his throat and held himself in check.

 

“If you think I don’t know you hate me you’re not as bright as you think. But you know what? I’m so fed up with having to put up with your shit. I don’t know what I did for you to hate me this much and it doesn’t matter really. I’m not like you. I’m not like any one of you.” He shoved his feet in his Vans and grabbed his bag from where it was leaning against the wall.    

 

No one had moved an inch or said a word since Jackson had dropped his bomb and he wasn’t surprised. He didn’t want to see the pity on their faces, so he kept his eyes trained on the concrete floor as he made his way to the door.

 

A loud roar stopped him in his tracks and he tensed up, expecting some sort of physical retaliation from the douchebag. The growling intensified as it got nearer, and he peered up to see Derek’s body standing between them, eyes flashing red. He could tell by the way the Alpha was holding himself that he was refraining from shifting past his beta form. Derek’s large hand encircled his wrist, his thumb rubbing in circles as he pulled him nearer so he could nose along his nape, warm breath tickling against his skin as he whispered the word “Stay”.

 

He was rooted in place, knees locked and heart rabbiting in his chest at the strange situation developing around him. Derek turned towards Jackson and just stared him down. The jerk held his gaze defiantly for a few minutes, dropping his head in submission when Derek’s wolf started to rumble deep in his chest. The air in the room was thick and there was an undercurrent of static energy that had the fine hair on his arms standing up. He had no idea what this was about, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. Derek was still rumbling and posturing, but he didn’t feel threatened whereas Jackson had yielded and was slowly slinking back. He wanted to smirk at that but held it in. Now was not the time to be a wiseass.   

 

“I don’t know where you figured that you are superior to Stiles in anyway when it’s obvious that you aren’t.” The Alpha spat, holding up a hand to prevent Jackson from objecting when he opened his mouth again. “You are a petty, superficial and vindictive person. You think that you are important because your parents have money but you’re just an annoying prick who picks on others because you lack self-confidence.” Jackson bristled at that and was shut down before he could utter a single word. “ _Shut the fuck up_! You don’t get the right to defend your actions this time.” Derek’s nostrils were flaring in anger, but the smell of Stiles’ tension had him flashing his eyes at him in comfort. He then faced the other man and continued berating him.

 

“Unlike you, Stiles doesn’t go by on his looks alone, although I frankly don’t understand how no one sees how beautiful he is. He’s proven more times than I can count just how intelligent, how cunning he is. He’s fiercely loyal and he always puts the people he cares about before himself which is more than I can say about you.” Stiles felt his face warm up as the blush creeped along his skin, and he nervously glanced over at the others to find them staring, their expressions guarded and unreadable. Derek was still holding his arm and he subtly tried pulling it free only to have the Alpha tighten his hold slightly. He huffed through his nose in annoyance but kept still, unsure about where the whole thing was heading.

 

“You are no longer welcome here. I will have one of the others contact you regarding any pack business, but I do not want to see your face again.”  He turned on his heels, effectively dismissing him and pulled on Stiles’ arm as he strolled toward the living room where the rest of the pack was still sitting in shock. He flashed his Alpha eyes again as the door banged closed behind them. “This is your only warning. I will no longer tolerate this type of bullshit.  If you don’t agree then leave.” No one moved, and Derek nodded. The human exhaled softly in relief, the knot in his stomach loosening a bit when Kira smiled softly at him. “Meeting’s over then.” Everyone scrambled simultaneously, picking up after themselves, cleaning up and trashing the empty containers of Chinese from dinner. They were out the door in less than ten minutes, Lydia hugging him as she went last. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

 

He moved towards the door and was stopped by Derek tugging yet again on his arm. He looked down at the fingers still wrapped around his wrist and raised his head to look at the older man, searching for answers to questions he had not yet even thought to formulate. The Alpha sighed and moved to the couch, pulling him along. They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. Derek drew his free hand along his face and finally let go of his wrist only to lace their fingers together. Stiles was speechless as he glanced at their entwined hands, his mind a whirlwind of activity. He could not hold it any longer and he broke the uneasy silence. ”So, not sure what the protocol is in situations like these but I guess I need to thank you? So, yeah… thank you.” Being stock-still and silent this long had taken a toll, the need to move so overpowering that his leg bounced, and his fingers tapped a random rhythm on the armrest.

 

Derek’s head hit the backrest and he groaned low in his throat. “You have nothing to thank me for.” Stiles snorted, words already rolling off his tongue. “Dude, are you serious? No one has ever stood up for me like that. Like, e _ver_. And those things you said? You have no idea what that means to me.” He squeezed Derek’s fingers as tear gathered along his lashes.  “I meant everything. I’m so sorry, I should have never let anyone disrespect you like that. You are worth so much more than you think, so much more than you give yourself credit for “.  His thumb was drawing circles around his knuckles, the gesture oddly intimate considering they’d never really touched before except for the odd bumping into each other type of contact.

 

Stiles tried not to breakdown, but he could no longer keep the tears back as he took deep, shuddering breaths. Derek raised his head at the sound, a concerned whine erupting at Stiles’ distress. Blinded by his tears he did not see Derek lean closer. He was suddenly crushed against a muscled chest, his nose pressed to the soft cotton of his t-shirt.  “I promise I will never let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter ever again.” Derek rubbed his cheek along his hair, his large hands a comforting pressure on his back.

 

The human quieted down in due course, his mind fuzzy and his body bone tired. Derek had moved them into a more comfortable position a while back and he was now laying half on top of the larger man, squished between the couch and the length of his body. He was lulled by the rhythm of Derek’s heartbeat under his ear and the fingers carding through his hair, the silence oddly comfortable despite everything that had transpired. He sighed and pushed himself up so he could look at him, only to find green eyes peering back inquisitively. “It’s getting late. Do you want to stay over?” He bowed his head in a shy nod and sat up, letting Derek disentangle himself. “Okay. Cool. Call your dad. Come up when you’re ready.”  The Alpha padded upstairs and disappeared in the bathroom.

 

Stiles fidgeted with his phone, nervous and unsure about _what the hell_ this new thing was with Derek _._ He thumbed his phone and checked the time. It was early enough for him to not wake the Sheriff, so he pressed on his name and waited for the call to connect. He quickly told him what had happened, that he was spending the night at Derek’s and he chuckled when his father used is “lawman” voice to volunteer parental advice.  Once the call was over he slowly trudged up the stairs and made his way to the Alpha’s bedroom. Dressed only in a pair of dark blue lounge pants, Derek was putting clothes away in the closet, looking in his direction when he heard him shuffle in the doorway. “I left some sleepwear for you in the bathroom if you want.” He smiled at that, at how domestic he was.         

 

The clothes were a bit big on his frame, the cotton was soft and smelled like Derek and it settled something in him. The older man was staring out the window when he timidly approached the bed, hesitant about what to do. He’d only ever shared a bed with Scott, so this was way out of his comfort zone plus he certainly did not have this type of relationship with Derek. He grabbed the bedding and slid in bed, settling in facing the wall and taking as little space as possible. The light was turned off, the mattress dipped when the wolf laid on the other side and the covers settled over their bodies.

 

He pretended everything was fine and dandy for about eleven minutes. Then the silence and stillness started to grate on his nerves and he soon was wiggling and moving, trying to find a comfortable position without disturbing the Alpha too much. Derek huffed in annoyance, the low rumble in his chest conveying his irritation far more easily than words could. His “ _Jesus fuck_ ” was grumbled lowly but he almost shouted when the twitching intensified. “Stiles! Will you _please_ stop flailing around?”

 

The young man flipped on his back and stared at the ceiling, hands laced on his stomach and mind running in circles trying to make sense of things that were far from clear. Pretending there wasn’t an elephant in the room was proving fruitless and he could no longer hold his tongue. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to make of everything, of this thing. I don’t understand, and it makes me uncomfortable and just…. Yeah…. I don’t get it.” The fact that his voice was hushed spoke volumes more than the words he’d uttered themselves. 

 

Derek sighed and turned so he was also on his back, his thoughts as jumbled as Stiles’. Putting his feelings into words had never been easy but he owed the human some semblance of an explanation. After a few tense minutes of silence, he rolled to his side and stared at Stiles’ profile. He counted the moles on his cheek and traced the curve of his lips with his eyes. Swallowing his pride, he pushed his apprehension to the side and just told the truth. “What you said earlier about yourself made me so _angry_.  Every self-deprecating comment you make, every jab made about things you say or do just, it just makes me mad.” He inched closer until he was able to push his forehead against Stiles’ shoulder. “I’m tired of pretending I don’t care. I like having you around, hell, even my wolf is content and appeased when you’re near.” He murmured in the space between them. ”It’s like all the little parts of me that were torn and broken have slowly been put back together without me noticing.” He paused, realizing how much more healed he felt, the burden of guilt he’d carried around for so long had somewhat lessened into something that he could now manage. “I no longer feel hollow and damaged.”

 

Stiles’ was silent, but his heart was almost stuttering in his chest, the rhythm disorganized yet oddly familiar. Rarely had he been in a situation where he was tongue-tied but this, _this_ , warranted a bit of reflection. There was no way he was letting his brain-to-mouth filter plunge him in deep embarrassment this time. “That’s good, great even.”

_Just, no. Hell no!._

If he understood what Derek was not saying, _and dear God he hoped he was,_ he did not want to fuck this up by saying the wrong thing, so he took longer than necessary before speaking. Derek’s head was still pressed against his shoulder, his face hidden in the shadows, but his breathing was even, and he did not seem tense. “So…, does that mean that you _like_ me?” The Alpha’s inelegant snort was probably accompanied by an eye roll of epic proportions but it sort of warmed him a bit even though it was kind of rude. Still, he grinned like a loon. “Dude! Rude much?”

 

Derek breath was warm, the soft exhale of his laughter like a caress on his skin. They both lay unmoving, enjoying the proximity of the other and the comfort that the cover of darkness provided. He drew his head up a bit, his lips ghosting in a whisper along the flesh of Stiles’ arm. “I like _like_ you.” Stiles sputtered and twitched, his eyes wide and blinking owlishly. His mouth snapped closed then dropped open when he tried to say something, only to close again when his mind drew a blank and his words failed him. He gaped like a fish out of water for a moment or two then swallowed loudly. “Are you saying that you like _like_ me, you’re like, maybe in _like_ with me?”

 

The older man propped himself up on a forearm, his lips inches above the human’s as he mumbled “I’m sorta, kinda, absolutely crazy in _like_ with you.“ The contact of their lips was electric, pulling a soft moan from Stiles who was suddenly shell shocked. The weird mix of giggling and coughing that erupted from the younger man had Derek drawing back in surprise. Stiles tried not to laugh, he really did, but he had this strange habit of chuckling whenever his nerves were shot to hell. This was one such momentous occasion and he tried to explain himself, he really did, but he ended up emitting a series of odd snarfling noises that had Derek cracking up too. “Dude, that….. was that?…. That was _so_ lame!” They laughed so hard they cried, their faces hurt, and their bellies ached.  

 

Once they had quieted down and had rearranged themselves and the bedding, they snuggled up to each other and cuddled. Derek’s arm was under Stlies’ head, his fingers carding through the soft strands, his wolf pawing in contentment. The human smooshed along his side, legs tangled with his and a hand splayed on his chest, fingers drawing random patterns on his skin. He listened to his heart quieting down and his breaths evening out until Stiles’ fell asleep. He kissed his forehead and smiled softly when Stiles mumbled sleepily “I’ve been crazy in _like_ with you for a while too.”


End file.
